Washington Football Team head coach Ron Rivera would like to see his quarterback Taylor Heinicke be more of a game manager. Following Washington’s 43-21 loss to the Buffalo Bills Sunday, Rivera stressed that point.
On Tuesday while appearing on 106.7 the Fan’s Sports Junkies, Rivera went more in depth into wanting Heinicke to manage the game.
“Yes, I’d like to see him do things in more of a game manager way,” Rivera said. “Sometimes that is really just taking what’s given to you. Go ahead and throw the checkdown, go ahead and throw the drag or the slant, as opposed to, okay, I’m gonna wait for the dig to get into that middle window, and then in the meantime everything is closing around me as the quarterback. I’m gonna go ahead and scramble out to my right and I’m gonna wait for the guy to come across, I’m gonna throw across my body.”
Taylor Heinicke struggled in his first road game as an NFL starter. He completed a mere 14 of 24 passes against the Buffalo Bills for 212 yards.
Heinicke threw two touchdowns, including a late garbage-time toss to Logan Thomas. He also had a diving-touchdown at the pylon. But, he also threw two bad interceptions. A third was called back by penalty.
His aggressive approach on the field proved to be his detriment in Buffalo. Much like the week prior against the New York Giants, Heinicke missed first reads and checkdowns as he looked for the big play.
“Those are the things that you don’t want to see him do,” he said. “Take what’s there in front of him. Again, it might be a simple checkdown on third-and-8, and give the guy a chance to catch it, turn and run and see if he can pick it up. You don’t have to throw the ball to a receiver that’s beyond the down marker.
Maybe he was pressing, considering Washington was losing its grip on the game. They fell behind 14-0 before the first interception that led to a 21-0 deficit. Despite a quick burst to cut the lead to 21-14, the game was always in Buffalo’s control.
Heinicke’s limitations were on display. They showed he isn’t the type that can take over a game with his arm. Keeping the team ahead of the chains, taking the first open read, the checkdown or even using his legs are best for him to survive as Washington’s starting quarterback.
“And that’s some of the things that he has to understand as far as game management. We’ll make the right decision. Not the decision because it’s hard or the decision because it’s easy, but the right one. And if the right one is throwing the checkdown, we’ll live with the checkdown. We’ll live with the good decisions, the right decisions.”
He’ll get a chance to bounce back Sunday against the Atlanta Falcons. How Heincike responds will go a long way into convincing Rivera and the offensive coaching staff he can manage the starting quarterback role.
